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Venue Once you have fixed your budget, you can then
decide on the venue. If you’re going to do the work yourself
(rather than go somewhere such as the theatre followed by a
meal, say) it’s undoubtedly easier to organise your party at
home, so that everything is at hand and you can’t forget to take
anything to the venue. People have been known to organise a
party in the village hall and then forget to take all the
quiches that the wife had lovingly made!
However, before you decide to organise a party at home you must
make sure that home is suitable. The first question is: Is it
big enough for all the guests?
Even that’s not as simple a question as it may sound. If you
want everyone to be inside all the time, you will need more room
indoors than if you’re happy for people to spill outside.
However, if they’re going to be outside, you may feel you need
some shelter for them in case it’s either too hot or too wet. If
it’s for a small number a gazebo or two may well do the trick.
However, if it’s for a large number of people you may need a
marquee. Visit
www.entsweb.co.uk to see a list of companies that hire
marquees.
If you decide that your home is unsuitable, then you need to
think about the village hall, the scout hut, a room in a
pub/hotel or some other suitable local venue. If you’re doing
your own catering, the nearer to your home the better, because
transporting food can be tricky.
If you’re using a hall of some description, you need to ensure
that the facilities are right for the kind of food you are going
to serve. If you need to heat up food, there needs to be a
cooker of a suitable size that will do the job in a reasonable
time. If you’re using outside caterers, they will expect the
facilities to be appropriate to what you are asking them to do.
Remember that if you want to hire a room in a hotel they will
certainly insist on doing the catering themselves.
One other aspect of venue is if you think people would want to
stop over for the night but you can’t accommodate them. You then
need to ask your local friends if they could put someone up
and/or investigate the local B&Bs and hotels. You may then think
about hiring a mini-bus or taxis to get your guests from their
accommodation to the venue and back again.
If you are using your home as the party place, think about
seating. Most of us don’t have sufficient seating for everyone
to sit, if you are going to host a large party. Therefore, you
will probably have to beg, borrow or hire chairs. However, if
it’s an informal party there may be no need for everyone to sit
at the same time – or at all.
Lastly, if the venue is away from the home, consider how you
want to get there. For example, you may want to transport your
partner to the party in a stretch limo. That’s a real treat and
you can find one at
www.24-7limos.com
Guests
Your guest list is, of course, all-important. In a sense,
everything else is dependent on how many people you are going to
invite. So decide whom you are going to invite in conjunction
with the other elements of organising the party, always bearing
in mind who and how many you are going to invite. Of course, if
you have a particular type of party in mind right from the
start, then the guest list will have to be appropriate to that.
If it means that you can’t invite all your friends, consider how
you can avoid upsetting those who miss out!
You might like to have a reserve list in case some people
can’t come, but this will depend on how many friends you have
and whether you want to invite them all right from the start.
However, once you have decided on your primary guest list, don’t
alter the numbers too much because it could affect all your
other plans.
Invitations
Don't forget to spend some time on the party invitation. It's
the first thing your guests will see connected with the party
and it can help to create the right mood and anticipation even
before they arrive.
You’re inviting people to a ‘James Bond’ themed party. Get into
the swing of it straight away and whet their appetites!
Tell them in the invitation that they have been selected for an
interview for MI6. Their first assignment is to attend a party
dressed as one of the characters in a James Bond film. Then have
an envelope inside the outer one marked ‘Top Secret’ with all
the details in.
So you can have some fun with invitations if you wish – dust
off your imagination again! Put any information on them that you
feel necessary, whilst making them fun. They’re the start of the
party! For example, you will obviously include:
- Date
- Time
- Venue
- A request to RSVP
You might wish to include:
- Theme
- Eating and drinking details, e.g. if you want them to
bring a bottle or a plate
- If presents are not required
- Details of local B&Bs and hotels if you think people
might want to stay the night
Think how you want your invitations to look. You can
obviously buy them in all sorts of different designs or you can
produce them yourself on the computer. Do you want them to be
formal or funny and informal? The feel of the invitation will
give people an idea of the style of the party you’re going to
host. Invitations are your chance to really ’sell’ the party and
make everyone look forward to it. If they come thinking they
will enjoy it, they will!
Finally, if you design them yourself, you can send them over the
Internet rather than post them. Go to
www.laterlife.com/laterlife-anniversary-invite and
www.laterlife.com/laterlife-joint-birthday-invite to see if
they get your creative juices going.
For further information on organising that special party, click on the links below:
Guide to organising that Special Party
Food and Drink
Making it go with a Swing!
Something Completely Different
This month why not visit our
New Retirement Courses site
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